The Corner Canyon High boys golf team has been hanging around the top tier of the 6A golf ranks for the past five years, including second-place finishes the last two seasons. This time around—and for the first time in school history—the Chargers can now lay claim as the best in the state following a nine-stroke win over four-time defending state champion Lone Peak during the two-day tournament Oct. 9-10 at Old Mill Golf Course. Junior Bowen Mauss won medalist honors, dethroning the Knights’ Kihei Akina as the state’s top individual golfer—an honor he had won at the past two 6A tournaments.

“I have every bit of emotion from relief of trying so hard to get over that hump to joy in watching the guys celebrate on the 18th hole dumping water all over me to satisfaction of finishing off a great season,” said head coach Derek Fox, who is in his sixth season at CCHS. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of boys. This team started playing golf the right way where they would play really well and then always feel that they could have done better.”

“This means a lot to our program,” Mauss said. “It was super fun celebrating with my team after a hard-working season.”

At the end of day one at state, Corner Canyon had a seven-stroke lead over Herriman with Mauss and senior Krew Labrum shooting 68s and tying for second place individually. “That got us off to a good start and the cushion helped relax the boys a little bit,” Fox said. “It was tougher conditions the second day so that cushion definitely helped.”

Labrum, who has only been playing golf for two years, joined Mauss in the top five with a fourth-place finish—shooting a one-under-par overall with rounds of 68 and 73 to also earn All-State honors. Also competing for the Chargers during the two-day tournament were junior Lincoln Blake and sophomore William Pizza, who tied for 16th, junior Cooper Meyer, who tied for 27th, and sophomore Tyse Boman, who tied for 32nd.

“Our depth definitely saved us, but it’s really been our strength all along,” Fox said. “All six players at state had their scores count at least once.”

Mauss, who was also the region medalist this year for the Region 2 champion Corner Canyon squad, duplicated a two-stroke victory over Akina at the region tournament Oct. 2 at Sleepy Ridge Golf Course to again win by two at state against the two-time defending 6A medalist.

“Being the 6A champion has a great ring to it after working hard for this all season,” Mauss said. “Winning the individual and team championship is the main goal so it doesn’t get much better than that.”

“Bowen may have played one of the best rounds of the season on day two, shooting a four-under, especially when you factor in the pressure of the moment, the windy conditions and the pin placement,” Fox said. “He is an incredible talent who thrives under pressure and seems to play better the bigger the moment gets.”

Mauss taking home the 6A individual trophy follows up his exceptional Utah Junior Golf season this summer and a top-16 finish in the U.S. Amateur.

“He had one of the best junior golf seasons in the history of Utah golf and he just took his game up a notch,” Fox said. “The way he played in high school all season was also great for the rest of our team.”

Corner Canyon has been continually building its program under Fox’s leadership, and close finishes at the state tournament in recent years have only fueled the players’ desire and work ethic. “This year, we simplified our message with ‘Let’s keep it simple—hit fairways, hit greens, give your putter a chance to play and if you get into trouble, limit the damage,’” Fox said. “We trusted the boys and it paid off with them shooting great scores and they never looked back. We knew the team would be good and after our second tournament of the year, I felt like we could actually be really good. It’s been a special year.”

Mauss was quick to give credit to coach Fox for his role in leading the Chargers program. “One of the biggest reasons we had so much success this season is because we have a great coach that cares so much about us,” he said.

Fox, who began Impact Golf, a high-end custom club fitting facility in Draper, a few years ago said he has always been about “impact.” “Having an ‘impact’ is my passion, from my philosophies on someone’s swing and that moment of impact to the impact equipment has and life philosophies having an impact. It’s nice to see it coming full circle in being able to have an impact with these 27 boys who are like family to me,” the father of four girls said. “It’s the highlight of my golf career, and it has nothing to do with me hitting a golf ball.”

Also on the CCHS team this season along with All-Region players Mauss, Blake, Boman, Labrum and Meyer were seniors Jackson Gale, Eric Jorgensen, Davis King, Xander Neeley, McKay Neyman, Hayden Trujillo and Owen Watkins; juniors Ty Anderson, Nolan Cloyd, Creed Covington, Aidan Springer, Stockton Weenig and Preston Wilde; sophomores Boston Bloechel, Nolan Kartchner, Cohen Miller and William Pizza; and freshmen Vance Alleman, Sasha Clark, Graham Jones, James Meadows and William Middleton.

Fox was assisted this season by Brian Rueckert, Brady Boman and Justin Labrum on the coaching staff with support from team mom Katie Boman, Corner Canyon High administrative assistant Chelsea Darrah and the “team village” of the Fox family, players’ parents and the alumni of the program.

“Our number one job is to raise young men and our number two job is to try and lift trophies,” Fox said. “We’ve done a little bit of both.”λ